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Oald? Reflux? Help!!!

Hello, I have a five week old, born at 8 lbs 15 oz, and is now a whopping 12 lbs, 14oz at a 5 week weigh in!!! My milk absolutelt SPRAYS out during let down and for the majority of the feeding, however I rarely get any engorgement. He does gulp and choke, with milk pooling and dripping oyt of his mouth, and does sometimes arch his back and thrash. He has been on and off fussy for the past two weeks after feedings, sometimes before, and definitely when trying to poop.

Poops are yellow, but not 'grainy,' more watery I would say, and quite explosive! He has also been gassy and I think had some abdominal pains. He does spit up, although has not had any real vomiting going on. I have been trying to burp him longer and more often, and to let the spray go onto a towel at letdown, however the spray takes a LONG time to lessen, and I don't want to waste too much precious milk! I pump after the first morning feeding, to build supply for work in 2 weeks. When I did a trial bottle, my corresponding pumping session only yielded 3.5 per side, although my pump was put to GOOD use three years ago with DS1, so I don't know how well it still works!

Btw, I do block feed, usually 4 -6 hours on each aide (2 feedings/per)... Any advice or suggestions to help his little tummy? Thank you!

Re: Oald? Reflux? Help!!!

Thank you, Karen! I did not realize that 3.5 oz/side was alot, I yielded 10 - 15/side when pumping for DS1, EACH SESSION! So I guess that I am an 'overproducer!' I tried the semi-reclined positions that you had mentioned, which do seem to help but still get some gulping and choking with feedings... If anything, my milk seems to be increasing, however my baby is handling the flow a little better and seems to have thinned out a bit!

Re: Oald? Reflux? Help!!!

10-15 oz at a time is literally- literally!- enough for triplets or quadruplets. Breastfed babies generally take just 2-4 oz at a feeding, making up for the relatively small size of the average feeding by nursing frequently.

Re: Oald? Reflux? Help!!!

Really! I didn't realize that it was so much! DS1 usually had 4 oz bottles until 4 mos or so, then roughly 6 oz/feed. I had so much freezer store that he had expressed bottles for 4 months or so after I stopped bf'ing... Right now my DS2 is consuming 3 oz or so when drinking bottles, and who knows how much when bf'ing?! Sometimes he seems overfull after a bf session, somewhat gassy with a hard tummy although the spitting up has mostly ended... Any advice on how to tell if he is in fact gorging himself or not?

Re: Oald? Reflux? Help!!!

You don't need to worry about your baby gorging himself. Breastfed babies can't be overfed because you, the adult, are not in charge of the feeding. It's easy to overfeed a baby using the bottle, because even the most sensitive bottle-feeding parent is sometimes going to do things like replacing the bottle in the baby's mouth when the baby is no longer interested in eating, or tipping up the bottle so that the baby eats a little faster. And bottles provide a constant flow of fluid, regardless of how the baby is sucking, so that a baby who is sucking lazily for comfort will get the same flow as one who is sucking hungrily for nutrition.

When a baby is nursing, the baby gets to control the flow of milk and to use his own internal satiation cues to figure out when to stop eating. When he starts to feel full, he's going to change his nursing style, going from eager, rhythmic nutritive suckling to light and erratic comfort sucking. At this point, milk flow will either slow down or stop entirely. If milk continues to flow and the baby can't get the breast to stop- something which sometimes happens when mom has a huge supply- the baby will pull off the breast and refuse to nurse anymore. And unlike a bottle, the breast can't be replaced into the baby's mouth if the baby isn't interested in having it there.

So really don't worry about overeating! Trust your baby to self-regulate. Breastfed babies are good at that, which may be why they tend to become leaner adults.